Gripping device



Feb. 1, 1966 C, E THOMPSON ETAL 3,232,657

GRIPPING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 29, 1963 j' 71N ENTORSu BY M .2f/

fram/nr Fell l, 1966 c. E. THOMPSON ETAL 3,232,657

GRIPPING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 29, 1963 il l/ United States Patent O This invention relates to a gripping device for handling hot containers such as oven ware.

To provide for a more efficient utilization of oven space, and to eliminate need for and expense of manufacturing kitchenware with handles, it has become the practice to manufacture kitchenware, .particularly oven ware, without handles. This is especially true in the manufacture of glass ware which is used on top of the stove, in the oven, and in the refrigerator. Instead of manufacturing the ware with the handle |permanently fixed to it, it has been the practice to provide a handle having a scissors action the handle including a pair of jaws at the forward end between which the ware may be gripped and carried without dangerof burning the operator.

The use of some handles of this type can be such a nuisance as to leave the user cold to the whole concept of handleless oven ware. Such handles are difficult to apply, diicult to remove and do not remain substantially rigidly applied when not being gripped in -the hand of the user.

The objective of the present invention has been to provide an improved gripping device which provides greater convenience in its operation and greater security in its gripping action than has heretofore been possible with the devices of the prior art. It is further an objective of the invention to attain the desirable features through a device having few parts which are easily manufactured and assembled.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a gripping device having a pleasing appearance and having that orientation of its elements which will eliminate any possibility of pinching fingers or of becoming burned from exposed metallic parts. In this respect, the invention includes the manufacture of the main load bearing elements of the gripping device from aluminum which is lightweight and therefore desirable. However, aluminum is one of the better conductors of heat and therefore will more rapidly approach the temperature of the ware than would metals of lower thermal conductivity. The load bearing elements are therefore partially encased in a heat insulating material such as Bakelite and the elements are designed to have a nesting relationship whereby exposed metal is isolated from the hands of the users by the Bakelite casings.

t is further an objective of the invention to provide a scissors action gripping device having jaws at the forward end, the device being applied and fixed in applied position merely by squeezing a lower lever against an upper handle.

It is still a further objective of the invention to provide a trigger catch which normally holds device clamped onto the ware and which can be released merely by sliding the little finger against the trigger catch. In the preferred form of the invention, the trigger catch is pivotally and resiliently mounted and has a cam surface coopera-ting with a corresponding surface on the lever whereby the catch is cammed into proper position by the squeezing of the lever against the handle when the device is to he gripped.

The invention further provides a secure tight gripping action of the device on the ware even when the handle is not held by the user. To this end, the lever and ice trigger are provided with cooperating latch surfaces, one latch surface being inclined to provide a ramp engageable at any .position along its length to determine the latched angular relationship of the lever with respect to the handle. Thus variations in the thickness of the rim of the ware, or wearing of the parts of the gripping device will not affect the ability of the gripping device to provide a secure grip on the ware.

The several objectives and distinctive features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the follorwing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. l,

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are elevational views partly in section illustrating the operation of the invention, and

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. 6.

Referring to the drawings, the gripping device illustrated at 10 is shown applied to ware 11 (shown in broken lines) the ware having a rim 12 with a peripheral boss 13.

The gripping device comprises a handle 15 terminating at its forward end in a lower jaw 16. A lever 17 having an upper jaw 18 is pivoted by a rivet 19 on the handle 15. The lower jaw has a lug 20 whose surface 21 conforms to that of the annular groove formed between the peripheral boss 13 and the wall of the Ware 11. Similarly the upper jaw 18 has a flat surface 22 which is engageable with the upper surface of the rim 12. It should be understood that the jaw configuration of the gripping device can be changed to match the coniguration of any w-are to which the gripping device is designed to be applied.

The handle is formed of a load bearing member 25 which is preferably of a light Weight material such as aluminum the load bearing member being enclosed on three sides by a heat -insul-ative casing 26 made of a material such as Bakelite. The casing 26 is preformed and secured to member 25 by an epoxy resin. The load bearing member 25 has a rearward portion 27 which has an inverted U shape in cross section to provide a recess 28. The portion of the load bearing member 25 at the location of the rivet 19 has an opening 29 through which the lever 17 passes.

The lever 17 has a load bearing member 31 which is enclosed on three sides by casing 32 of insulative material such as Bakelite which is preformed and Xed to member 3-1 by an epoxy resin. The width of the lever 17 is suiiciently less than the width of the recess 28 in the handle 15 to permit the lever to nest easily within the recess 28 when the lever is closed to its gripping position.

The rearward end of the lever 17 has a latch surface 35 and a cam surface v36. These surfaces cooperate with a catch 37 which is pivotally mounted by a rivet 38 inside the recess 2S of the handle 15. The catch 37 is urged by a spring '39 `to pivot in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 4-6. That pivotal movement is limited by a catch extension 40 which bears against the inner surface of the handle 15.

The catch 37 has a latch surface 42 which is engageable with the latch surface 35 on the lever 17. A cam surface 43 on the catch 37 cooperates with the cam surface 36 on the lever to cause the catch 37 to pivot counterclockwise when the lever 17 is pivoted to a closed or gri-pping position.

The catch 37 has a trigger 44 which projects rearwardly of the catch and underlies the end of the handle 15. The trigger 44 is in a position to be conveniently engaged by the little linger of the user to pivot the catch 37 in a n counterclochwise directionito effect the release of the lever from the latch engagement of surfaces 35 and 42.

The latch surface 35 of the lever 17 is inclined or tapered with respect to the path of the latch surface l2 on "the catch 57 as the catch moves intoiits engaged' position thereby providing a ramp engageable at any position along its length by latch surface 42. The angle of taper is indicated in FIG. 6 by the angle which may be approximately 3. It permits a slight variation in the angular relationship of the lever 1'7 with respect to the handle 15 when the device is applied to ware. In other words, if there is a slight dimensional variationin the rirn 'of the ware, the device can nevertheless be securely clamped to the ware with the latch surface of the catch sliding to the appropriate position on the inclined latch surface 35 of the lever. Obviously, the latch surface 42 could be inclined rather than latch surface 35 to provide the same result. x

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 the upper jaw 18 is formed in part by a pair of lateral flanges 47 which overlie the upper surface 48 of load bearing member 25. The engagement of lianges 47 with the surface 48 limits the angular movement of the lever 17 with respect to the handle 15 to the full open position of FIG. 4. The restriction on the opening of the device provides a convenient one-handed operation of the device when it is being applied to ware. l

In the operation of the invention, the lever 17 is pivoted clockwise to a position illustrated in FIG. 4 in which the jaws are open. The jaws are then applied to the rim V12 of the ware and the lever 17 is squeezed toward the handle 15. As the lever 17 moves into the recess 28, the cam surface 36 on its rearward end engages the cam surface 43 on the catch 37 thereby causing the catch to pivot counterclockwise against the action of the spring 39. After the cam surface 35 rides over the cam surface 43, the spring 39 causes the catch 37 to snap into that positionin which the latch surfaces 35 and 42 are in engagement. That position is illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 3. It can be seen that in that position, all exposed metal in the area of the hand grip is prevented by the insulative casing 26 and 32 and by the disposition of the lever within the recess 28 from coming into contact with the hand of the user.

When the gripping device is to be removed from the ware, the user merely slides his little linger against the trigger 44. The catch 37 is pivoted a few degrees in a counterclockwise direction. That movement effects the release of the-latched surfaces 215 and 42. The stress on the resilient portion 45 of the lever is relieved and causes the lever 17 to spring away from the handle 1S, thereby permitting the removal of the gripping device from the rim of the ware.

We claim:

1. A gripping device for ware, said device comprising,

a handle terminating at the forward end in a lower jaw,

a lever pivoted to said handle in scissors fashion and having a rearwardly extending grip underlying said handle, said lever terminating at the forward end in an upper jaw,

the rearward end of said lever being configurated provide a latch surface,

a catch mounted at the rearward end of said handle for movement intoand out of latchingY engagement with said lever latch surface, said catch having an integral trigger portion disposed adjacent the under surface of the rearward end of said handle and projecting rearwardly beyond said lever, and

said lever latch surface being inclined to provide a ramp engageable by said catch at any selected position along its length, thereby varying the latched angular relationship of the lever with respect to the handle.

2. A gripping device for ware, said device comprising,

a handle terminating at the forward end in a lower jaw, ,t

a lever pivoted to said handle in scissors fashion and having a rearwardly extending grip underlying said handle, said lever terminating at the forward end in an upper jaw, t

a catch mounted at the rearward end of said handle for movement into and out of latching engagement with said lever, and

said lever being contigurated at its rearward end to form an inclined latch surface providing'a ramp engageable by said catch at any selected position along its length, thereby varying the latched angular relationship of the lever with respect to the handle.

. A gripping device for ware, said device comprising,

a metal handle terminating lat the forward end in a lower jaw, l

a metal lever pivoted to said handle in scissors fashion and Vhaving a rearwardly extending grip underlying said handle, said lever terminating at the forward end in anrupper jaw,

a catch mounted at the rearward end of said handle for Y movement into and out of latching engagement with said lever, said handle, rearward of said pivotal mounting being of an inverted U cross section to provide a deep recess `into which said lever moves when pivoted into latching engagement with said catch, v

said handle being covered on three sides by an inverted U-shaped casing of heat insulative material, and

said lever being covered on three sides by a U-shaped casing of insulative material, the lower surface of Which .extends below said handle, said lever'being yconligurated at its rearward endvfto form an inclined latch surface providing a ramp engageable by said catch at any selected position along its length, thereby varying the latched angular relationship of the lever with respect to the handle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,250,365 12/1917 Selden 294-118 X I 2,789,006 4/ 1957 Mattson 294-118 3,028,190 4/1962 Thomas e 294-118 3,059,809 10/ 1962 Thompson 294-31 X FOREIGN PATENTS 570,301 1/1924 France. 455,126 10i/i936 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

ERNEST A. FALLER, SAMUEL' F. COLEMAN,

v Examiners. 

1. A GRIPPING DEVICE FOR WARE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING, A HANDLE TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END IN A LOWER JAW, A LEVER PIVOTED TO SAID HANDLE IN SCISSORS FASHION AND HAVING A REARWARDLY EXTENDING GRIP UNDERLYING SAID HANDLE, SAID LEVER TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END IN AN UPPER JAW, THE REARWARD END OF SAID LEVER BEING CONFIGURATED TO PROVIDE A LATCH SURFACE, A CATCH MOUNTED AT THE REARWARD END OF SAID HANDLE FOR MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF LATCHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID LEVER LATCH SURFACE, SAID CATCH HAVING AN INTEGRAL TRIGGER PORTION DISPOSED ADJACENT THE UNDER SURFACE OF THE REARWARD END OF SAID HANDLE AND PROJECTING REARWARDLY BEYOND SAID LEVER, AND SAID LEVER LATCH SURFACE BEING INCLINED TO PROVIDE A RAMP ENGAGEABLE BY SAID CATCH AT ANY SELECTED POSITION ALONG ITS LENGTH, THEREBY VARYING THE LATCHED ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP OF THE LEVER WITH RESPECT TO THE HANDLE. 